Research Methods

Features:

• An IV manipulated by the researcher in an attempt to produce a change in the DV.
• High Control
• Conducted in an artifical environment

Strengths

• Extraneous variables can be controlled - Know the cause of the change in th DV
• Greater control allows ability to replicate study thus ensures reliability

Weaknesses

• Lacks ecological validity due to artifical environment
• Higher risk of demand characteristics
• May raise ethical issues of deception
• Total control of all variables not possible
• Results more likely to be biased by sampling

Features

• IV is manipulated
• Carried out in participant's natural environment

Strengths

• Carried out in natural environment - greater ecological validity
• Less bias from sampling, demand characterics etc

Weaknesses

• More difficult to control all variables - may not be able to infer cause & effect
• More difficult to replicate - may not be reliable
• Ethical problems e.g. privacy, fully informed consent etc

Features

• IV naturally exists e.g. age, gender etc
• Mainly conducted in an artifical environment

Strengths

• As the condition already varies it allows comparison between different types of people

Weaknesses

• Hard to infer cause & effect as IV has not been directly manipulated
• Random allocation to conditions is not possible - may cause confounding variables, may affect the internal validity
• As they are often conducted in an artifical environment they have the same weaknesses as lab experiments

Features

• IV is changed through natural occurrence
• Conducted in natural environment

Strengths

• High ecological validity
• Little bias & demand characteristics

Weaknesses

• Hard to infer cause & effect due to little control
• Very difficult to replicate
• Ethical Issues e.g. privacy, consent etc

Measures the relationship between two co-variables.

Postive Correlation: Whilst one variable increases so does the other

Negative Correlation: Whilst one variable increases the other decreases

Correlation coefficient: A number that shows the strength of the correlation, this is between -1 and +1

+1 = Perfect postive correlation

0 = No correlation

-1 = Perfect negative correlative

A scattergraph is used to show the correlation

Naturalistic Observation: Refers to the observation of behaviour in its natural setting - the reseracher makes no attempt to interfere with the behaviour

Controlled Observation: Some variables in the environment are controlled by the researcher

Overt: Aware of being observed

Covert: Unaware of being observed

Participant: Observer is part of the group being observed

Non-Partipiant: Observer watching/listening to the behaviour of others

In General

• Tests existing findings
• Meanings - can describe behaviour but are unlikely to tell us why
• Observer Bias
• Can be used in situations where it would be unethical to manipulate variables

Naturalistic observations

• Realism
• Lack of control

Controlled observations

• Lack of realism
• High control

Covert observations

• Low demand characteristics and observer effects
• Ethical Issues - lack of informed consent

Overt observations

• Risk of demand characteristics and observer effects
• Lack of ethical issues

Participant observations

• Greater insights into behaviour
• Objectivity of the observations are effected by being part of the group/situation

Non-Participant observations

• Lack of direct involvement
• Data lacks the richness

Closed questions: Questions where the participant gets a range of answers selected by the researcher

Open questions: Questions where the participants are not restricted by a range of answers and can expand on their answers

Strengths

• Cheap & Quick
• Wide range of data - Quantitative and Qualitative
• Ease of analysis

Weaknesses

• Social Desirability Bias
• Researcher Effects
• Difficult to control
• Different interpretations of questions

Questions to avoid:

• Leading questions
• Ambiguous questions
• Emotive questions
• Double-barelled questions
• Jargon
• Negatives
• Complex questions
• Impossible questions

Questions should try to include

• Filler questions
• Easy questions
• Lie detection questions
• A balance of yes/no responses - Tendency to answer Yes

Repeated Group Design: Participants are used in both conditions

Strengths

• Participant Variables are kept constant
• More powerful statistics are used
• Fewer participants are needed

Weaknesses

• Order effects - can be avoided by counterbalancing
• Demand Characteristics

Individual Group Design: Different participants used in each condition

Strengths

• Order effects do not occur
• Demand characteristics less of a problem
• The same test can be used in each condition

Weaknesses

• Participant variables are different - confounding variables
• Less powerful statistical tests
• More participants are required

Matched Pairs Design: Different but similar participants are used in each condition

Strengths

• Participant variables kept constant
• No order effects
• Less Demand Characteristics
• The same test can be used
• More powerful statistical tests

Weaknesses

• Participant variables can never be matched in all aspects
• Matching participants is time consuming and difficult
• More participants are required

Random: Every member of target pop. has an equal chance of being selected

• Provides the best chance of an unbiased representative sample
• Compiling a list of everyone in the target pop. is impractical - time consuming, expensive

Stratified: Dividing the target pop. into important subcategories and then selects members of the categories in the correct proportions

• A deliberate effort is made to identify the characteristics of a sample for it to be representative
• It can be difficult to identify important characteristics & very time consuming

Opportunity: Selecting participants that are available at the time

• It is quick, convenient and economical compared to the other methods
• Unrepresentative and often biased on the part of the researcher to pick helpful participants

Volunteer:Individuals who have determined their involvement in a study

• Convenient and if volunteering is made in terms of informed consent then it is ethical
• Unrepresentative samples - each volunteer is different

Systematic: A sample obtained by selecting every nth person on a list. The numerical interval is to be applied consistently.

• Unbiased as Ps are selected by an objective system
• Not truly unbiased/random unless number is selected through random method